Children under the age of 12 will no longer face arrest and prosecution for virtually all crimes in New York under a bill signed into law late this week by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The bill signed by Hochul raises the lower age of the state’s jurisdiction for juvenile delinquency, a move that will prevent those under the age of 12 from arrest except in the case of a homicide.
Under the prior law, anyone between the age of 7 and 18 could be charged as a juvenile delinquent in New York, allowing them to be subject to the criminal justice system for many crimes.
When the new law takes effect in a year, the lower age will be increased to 12. It’s a move that many criminal justice reform advocates had been pushing for years, noting that children of color are affected at a disproportionate rate.
